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A lost key and a lesson in 'leaning'
One day, a few summers ago, when I was working as a counselor at a summer camp, the staff had a big bonfire on the beach on one of our days off. We spent the day playing on the beach, surfing, kayaking, playing football, and enjoying each other’s company—until, at the end of the day, the camp director discovered that he had lost the key to the camp van. The van had all of the equipment that we needed for the kids the next day, and at that point in the summer the other copies of the key had been lost and not yet replaced. It looked as if there was no choice but to find the key in the dark.
The other counselors grabbed flashlights, but it seemed impossible that we would find the key in all that sand. So before I joined the hunt, I found a quiet spot to pray and turned to God. The Christian Science Bible Lesson that week was on the subject, “Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?” and explored the idea that nothing could be lost in God’s kingdom. I especially liked this passage: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6). I knew that if I were to view the situation materially, it would seem all was lost; but turning to God wholeheartedly would reveal what He was seeing of the situation.
As I pondered these ideas, the thought came to me to grab a flashlight and look for a glimmer of light in the sand. The discouraging thought came: “Yeah, right—like you’re going to notice a glimmer in all this sand!” But I was convinced that instead of “leaning unto my own understanding” of the situation, I simply needed to acknowledge God and follow His guidance.
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